


Poor Unfortunate Souls

by ABeeCee



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 12:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/639059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABeeCee/pseuds/ABeeCee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mermaids aren't fragile scared creatures who rule the sea, mermaids are cold blooded predators. Ariel isn't content with such fate, she makes a deal with The Dark One to have the chance to experience more. An incident in her destiny and a rash decision bring her aboard the Jolly Roger and she embarks in adventures she'd never dream of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

Ariel rested her head over a stone. Her blood red hair waved with the silent sound of the water, her eyes were closed, but she was awake. She listened to the endless quietness around her with care. She could feel it was day already, in the outside world, she could feel the clarity of the sun bathing the sea, she smiled still with her eyes closed and felt a shiver down her spine when an enormous shadow started to cover her figure. She heard the hisses and opened her eyes to meet the shining eyes of her kin all around her, hiding among corals and stones.

The red head looked up to realize a ship was sailing slowly over her. This was a big one. Ariel knew this one. She waved her bluish green fin as she swam away, as far as she could, leaving all of her kin to appreciate and prepare an ambush. But not Ariel, Ariel had her share last night, and she needed not to eat. Neither did her sisters, but they appreciated what they did.

Ariel was brought up like every other mermaid. When her egg hatched she and her sisters who hatched the same day learned to live by themselves, when matured they would be able to find their entire school of mermaids with only their senses. Mermaids had splendid vision and hearing skills, they heard and saw things inside their heads. Even miles and miles away they could make up what was happening aboard the ships that traveled the seas, more than enough to prepare to attack.

She swam into an island shaped like a cave not too far from where the ship was. Ships could dock outside to the land, but to enter the cave, only with a small boat. It was Ariel's cave; she lured the sailors there so she could feast alone. Many other mermaids had their own ways, and this was hers. But she wasn't there to feast; she was there to observe from afar, her favorite pastime.

Mermaids communicated with each other by hisses and small sounds, but they also spoke the language of men. The rare times Ariel actually had the chance to speak to one of her sisters, she was appalled to be told that she was an odd one; the others didn't care for what humans did and how they lived, but not Ariel, she was curious and she always dreamed and wished of one day being able to be among them. When word spread out that Ariel had thoughts like that, her sisters maintained a distance and Ariel got used to being alone.

As soon as she entered the cave she emerged from the water. Her fair white skin almost glowed in the darkness of the cave. She emerged only up to her tiny waist; her long curled hair covered graciously her bare breasts, the curls looked as if they never touched the water, the bright blood red of her hair contrasted deeply with her skin. She looked outside, to the ship. She smiled to herself when she confirmed her thoughts; she knew that ship, it was a royal ship. She saw it the night before: the sailors were feasting and singing and she observed from far away. Her bright dark blue eyes fixed on the man that seemed like the centre of all attention; she heard the others call him Eric.

She smiled, remembering last night and imagining what could be like to have legs, to walk on land. She could come ashore, but her breath would quickly go away if completely deprived of salt water. And humans, oh, humans would kill her. And with reason. Ariel and her kin were monsters and killers, they deserved no less. And Ariel couldn't blame humans being scared of her. But if she had legs, they would never know...

Ever since she was hatched, Ariel never understood the ways of her people. There were no male mermaids; during mate season the mermaids would feast on many humans at a night and leave out legs as they swam away. They never know who their mother is: they are all one. But that does not bring them together if not to kill and ambush ships; the mermaids were predators and only the most skilled and cruel ones were adored. Ariel never understood any of that; she wished for a change every day of her life. She loved to watch humans feasting, talking, laughing, she  _wanted_ that… If only she could find a way to have it….

"What a desperate, desperate soul," Ariel was stunned by a dark deep male voice; she jumped, her fin waving in the air as she went underwater again.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the voice continued in her head, as if it was inside her. She wiggled, desperate something had caught her, but she was alone.

She emerged again, slowly, and as soon as her eyes popped out of the water she saw a hooded man sitting inside the cave. She didn't move an inch.

"I can grant your wish, Mermaid," the voice said, this time soundly around the cave. "I can give you legs."

How did this cloaked men knew what she wanted? Ariel's fin wiggled with fear.

"I know how to spot a desperate soul," the cloaked man said, as if he could hear her thoughts. "You are not desperate enough for what I need. But," he made a pause and only then Ariel could see his lizard eyes and skin. "You can help me find it."

"What do you want?" she managed to say as her head slowly popped out of the water. Her voice sounded as sweet as a melody.

"You see, sweetling," the man said, his eyes never leaving hers. "I really need to find a desperate soul. The skin of mermaid fin, a creature filled with ways of luring delusional men, is just the thing I need."

"Do you want my fin?" Ariel asked, growing interested, she swam closer and emerged all the way to her waist again. "I don't want to have only legs. Swimming across the sea is the only happiness I know."

"Nah, not yours," he said. Despite his dark voice, he seemed almost… friendly. "You can turn back and forth with just a thought. The skin I can get from your sisters."

Ariel pondered. She didn't really know her sisters; it was all hisses and traps to ambush ships, and the occasional odd looks they shot her ever since she opened her mouth to ask what they thought of humans. Why should she care? But she didn't answer right away, her eyes wandered in the water around her. Legs! She could  _have_  legs! She could go on land and talk and hear stories, and feast, dance and travel through forests and kingdoms! The kingdoms she saw in the minds of her victims when she sang to them before killing them.

"Name is Zoso," the voice spoke when Ariel held her silence for way too long.

"I am Ar—"

"Ariel, I know," he interrupted her and she could swear she saw a glimpse of a smile. "So, will you trade with me, Ariel? I give you the chance to have legs whenever you wish so and you give me the hiding place of your sisters."

Ariel eyes unlocked from Zoso's, her glance gazed on the water around her, she looked at her fin waving slowly underwater, giving her balance and then she heard it: a sweet melody of voices, enchanting and lavishing in desire, she turned around and observed as the royal ship seemed to have stopped, its men all on the main deck of the ship.

"Tick tock, sweetie," Zoso's voice called from behind her. "Or your sisters will dine on Prince Eric."

"He's a  _prince_?" Ariel turned again to Zoso's suddenly. She saw a mischievous yellow crooked smile under his hood.

"Oh yes," he answered simply. The same smirk across his face. "If we make a deal now, I can stop your sisters from attacking the ship. The sailors will be confused when the spell is broken and will want to return to their land. You can follow them and meet your prince there."

Ariel looked back at the ship, still hearing her sisters singing in a sweet melody. She saw them popping slowly out of water, their hair waving with the ocean breeze in a seductive dance to their preys. She could stop that, she could finally leave all this, she could go to land, meet Prince Eric and his friends. Be  _human_.

"Will my kiss still be poison?" she looked back at Zoso.

When the sailors jumped or crashed their ships intentionally to meet the mermaids, they kissed them. The mermaid kiss poisoned the poor man's veins and his heart would stop immediately, only then the mermaids would feast on their preys.

"Now, true love's kiss would never kill anyone, love," Zoso answered in riddles. Ariel glanced at the ship again and saw as some men started to climb ropes to jump overboard.

"Deal," she said at once and glanced back at Zoso in time to catch him standing up as he filled the cave with a dark laughter.

Zoso gestured to Ariel with his hands and she felt a shiver. Purple sparkly smoke filled the cave and evolved around her whirling in her direction. She closed her eyes with fear, expecting pain, but only felt a small sting on her fin and suddenly felt as it transformed into a pair of beautiful long legs evolved by the skirt of a dress made entirely of what seemed like a silk organza fabric, very light and flowy with the same blueish green of her fin. The fabric went up her waist and covered her breasts on a princess cut sort of top held by a tight knot on her back.

When the smoke started to fade away, Ariel lost her grip and started to drown, but quickly recovered and moved her legs, swimming up again as if she had them her entire life. She swam to the border and hesitated when Zoso offered a lizardy greenish hand to help her up, but took it and stood up on the rock beside him. She looked down at her legs, amazed, and felt tears filling up her eyes. She jumped and whirled around on her legs, but stopped as she met Zoso's serious eyes in front of her.

"Where?" was his only word. Ariel sighed anxiously and hesitated for a second before pointing in the direction of the ship.

"Many feet down, some of them are there, then go east, the others are there," she said lowly. Zoso managed another mischievous smile and bowed respectfully before a whirl of black smoke surrounded him. Ariel followed with her eyes as she saw the smoke swim down the ocean and disappear miles away.

Suddenly the melody of the mermaids stopped and gave room to a shrieking scream. Ariel observed as the men on the ship started to pace confusedly on board and was horrified when she started to see the blood filling the water. She ran to the water and with a blink of an eye transformed her legs back into her fin before jumping, she swam in the direction she sent Zoso and stood witness as Zoso's smoke cut all of her sisters in half and disappeared with their fins, leaving only their human part behind. All of them faced the same fate.

Ariel felt her heart slamming with fear on her chest as she observed the scene horrified and swam around trying to find survivors. The shrieking scream of the mermaids started to cease slowly, but Ariel continued to search, only to understand she had agreed to exterminate all of her kin for a chance to walk on land. Her tears of regret mixed with the salt water around her as she swam, lost, around the torsos of her sisters and the blooded water for hours and hours.


	2. I

**I**

Ariel followed the royal a ship all the way to port. She made sure never to come too close to the surface not to be seen. She'd been travelling for days now, by then her crying had stopped. She should know better than to deal lightly with the Dark One. She heard pirates and sailors talk about him; a vile creature that controlled specially a small village in one of the kingdoms. She should've made clear of what she was dealing.

There were none of her sisters left. She searched fiercely; sang and hissed, but never heard anything back. She thought Zoso would take only a few, but he took them all. The finless torsos sunk in the ocean, the blood filled the water, and she thought maybe the sailors couldn't see it for they didn't seem to mind it as they sailed away.

She managed to eat off of fish and other ocean specialties during the journey, not to scare the sailors away. Ariel tried eating only off fish for a while before that, but they seemed never to truly fulfill her, but now she was determined. She lost her sisters for this, she would make it work. She wondered if in human form she could, perhaps, eat other things? She breathed differently when Zoso pulled her up on land. Her senses lowered drastically, the singing of her sisters was only a faint memory in her mind in the few moments she stayed on land. Perhaps when a human she truly transformed completely into one? She hadn't had the chance to try and explore her human self completely until that night.

Ariel observed from afar as the ship docked, she took a considerable distance not to be seen and popped her head out of the water to observe as the sailors prepared to leave the ship. A castle stood strong and powerful far away on a mountain and the dock was made of a hard dark wood, the small village surrounding port was vibrant with life, the houses and establishments were made of dark stones, and oil lamps and blowtorches illuminated the entire village. Ariel could hear music, laughter and voices, and observed as the sailors left the ship and were greeted by locals.

Ariel dived again and swam towards port; she could see the earth that held the city strong baying the water and swam slowly to a darker part of the port. Carefully she swam up again; the tip of her head and her eyes popped out of the water and she realized she was on the other side of the ship, above on the ground a stoned house blocked her view. Seemed like the perfect place to transform and emerge out of the water. She closed her eyes and concentrated, her fin slowly turned into the pair of legs and her body evolved with the organza dress to cover her up. She lost a bit of grip again and almost drowned, but managed to swim to the dock and stand up quickly on ground.

She took a deep breath, feeling as her heart slammed her chest with a mix of excitement and fear and with the little confidence she had left, she walked around the ship, feeling the wet wood with her bare feet, she looked up at the ship and observed as sailors kept disembarking on the other side. She noted that indeed her senses were a lot less sharp when in human form, when she could barely hear what they were saying among all the voices and couldn't make up all the smells that filled her nostrils; the only strong smell she could really make up was the ocean breeze.

"Hello, pretty lass, are you lost?" a voice stunned her. She looked from the ship to where the voice came from and stared at an old man offering a hand to her.

The man had a bald head covered by a red stained and old bandana, a few of his left teeth were crooked and yellow, his eyes were dark as the night around them and his face was covered in with a dirty white beard, he was dressed with stained brown pants, a pair of old boots and a ragged puffy shirt. Ariel was so distracted observing the ship she didn't even realize she was about to actually step on land, the man offered his hand to help her up the small step from the docks to the land.

"No," she tried to sound casually, her voice failing a little. She hesitated but took the man's hand. "I'm not lost, sir."

"Looks like you are," he replied with a horrible smirk as he helped Ariel up.

She could feel rawness in his skin and quickly let go of his hand as soon as she stepped on the stoned ground. He grabbed her hand strongly as she tried to step away. Ariel panicked for a second and tried again to let her hand loose.

"Sir, please, let go of me," she said lowly. The man tried to pull her closer as she resisted.

"Oi, Old Jackie!" a third voice spoke up. "What are you doing?"

Both Ariel and the man, Old Jackie, looked at the source of the third voice. A handsome man with deep blue eyes, a beardless face and a white smile looked back at them. He was dressed with a royal uniform, white and blue, his black hair was hidden beneath a beautiful black hat with a black and white feather on the side. Ariel recognized him immediately: Prince Eric.

"Your Highness," Old Jackie said as soon as his eyes met Eric's, letting go of Ariel immediately to bow.

Ariel looked from Eric to Old Jackie and thought of doing the same, and so she did: clumsily imitating Old Jackie and with her head down. She heard as Eric's boot made a repetitive noise as he approached both of them. The Prince stood in front of Ariel and she stared at his boots, fighting hard not to look up, he took a gloved hand to her chin.

"Aren't you a pretty one?" Eric said, his voice deep and strong, Ariel looked up but kept bowing, she stared mesmerized at his white smile. "Stand up," he said and she did as she was told, he took the hand from her chin and kept on smiling. "What's your name?"

"A-Ariel," Ariel stuttered for a second as she lost her eyes on his. Eric glanced for a second to Old Jackie by her side and gestured apathetically to the man, who stood up and left them almost running.

"Ariel," Eric's eyes met hers as soon as the man left them. "Do you want to join our welcome home party?"

Ariel smiled in excitement and nodded her head. Soon completely forgetting how she got there, her sisters and everything else in her life as she joined her prince and followed him and his sailors to a tavern by the port.

**x**

Ariel shyly accompanied the party to the tavern, loud folk music played and the prince was welcomed by many common folk, most of them seemed of a lower level than him, with ragged clothes and dirty skins. As soon as Eric entered the tavern he distanced from Ariel, greeting and talking to the common people. Some women attended to the sailors, including Eric, with tight corsets on their bodies, heavy make up and their lavishing curves dancing with the music.

Ariel stood by a corner and observed, casually avoiding looks and people trying to grab her to dance… and other things. No one insisted, and as much as she wanted to actually join the feast, she was still unsure of how to act. She looked around and observed as people talked, played, danced, ate, feasted, kissed. She observed as two beautiful blonde women sat on each side of Eric's lap, their long tanned legs showing as they pulled their skirts up. The Prince happily ran his hands on the girls' legs as they kissed his neck and lips while he drank and talked to his friends.

Was that what human women did? She observed cautiously as if learning, they seemed as if they were enjoying it. At the same time she observed other women feasting, but reserved, and was confused. Maybe that attitude was a choice? It wasn't as if they were like mermaids, they weren't exactly predators. Humans had choices and lives, they didn't live to lure sailors, kill and feast on them. They had more, and whatever they did it was  _their_  choice. Ariel wasn't accustomed with making choices.

Ariel was caught by absolute surprise when a hand gently grabbed her elbow and pulled her away to a dark hallway. She took her elbow away and noticed when Prince Eric stared at her, his blue eyes shining with the light coming from the feasting hall. She swallowed dryly when he pinned her to the wall, one hand on each side of her head. She looked up, as he was taller than her and nudged down when she noticed he was about to kiss her.

"Where are you going?" he grabbed her arm again when she nudged and escaped his pin. This time he wasn't so gentle.

"Please, let go of me," she looked from his hand strongly holding her arm to his eyes.

"I'm  _your prince_ ," his voice was loud, but so was the music and talking on the feasting hall, no one seemed to hear him, his tone was pompous. "You should do as I say, now come here."

Ariel thought faster than she expected, and as the prince pulled her closer to pin her again she took one knee up strongly to his crotch. She felt a sting as her skin ripped a little when her knee clumsily touched his belt with her attack. Prince Eric fell to his knees immediately and let go of her, Ariel stepped away, frightened.

"You are not my prince!" were the only words she managed to say. Although the fear took her body completely, her voice sounded confident when she spoke.

Eric grabbed his crotch and moaned in pain, but when she spoke he shot an angry look at her. However, before he could react Ariel ran away, making her way quickly among the people and leaving the tavern.

"Guards!" his voice rang louder than the music this time. Everyone stopped talking and playing and looked directly at him. Some of the sailors stood up abruptly dropping women, tables and beer on the floor as they walked up to their prince.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" one of them spoke up as he stood a hand to Eric.

"Find Ariel, the red head." the words sounded darker than the sailors ever heard coming out of their prince's mouth. He refused the help and started to stand up on his own. The sailors quickly left him, taking their swords and walking out of the tavern.

**x**

Ariel ran as fast as she could, and noted mentally that she'd be much farther now if she were swimming with her fin. She made her way among the people and ran towards the docks. She heard as men started to shout her name and commands to the others guarding the docks.

When the men guarding the docks realized the others were after her, the red head was already running on the wooden platform beside the ship.

"Stop, right now, in the name of the king!" a voice spoke up from behind her. Ariel turned around and started to walk slowly backwards as a wave of men started to walk in her direction, bows and swords in hands.

Ariel smiled when she reached the end of the wooden dock. Her heels slowly stepped away from the dock and she maintained balance with her toes. The men kept approaching her.

"You have nowhere to go, surrender yourself," one of them said as they approached her more, only a few feet away from her. Ariel smiled and before they could take another step she jumped backwards into the water.

She was completely underwater when she changed again and her fin wiggled to swim away from there, she diverted from the arrows the men shot at the water and she observed already far away when some of them jumped underwater to find her, but could barely see with the darkness of the night around them. Ariel turned back and continued swimming away, as fast as she could.

**x**

"Gone?" Eric's voice was a mist of incredulousness and rage. He stared at his guards and sailors, all of them evading his glance.

All of his sailors hated when this happened. Eric wasn't as nice and caring as he looked in feasts, he was cruel and spoiled, as was his father, King Richard. He hated to be confronted, he despised people who didn't please him and most of all: he hated to be disappointed.

"You are telling me that a woman jumped here," Eric continued and pointed exactly where his sailors said Ariel jumped. "Diverted from your arrows and swam away.  _In this darkness_?"

"Your highness, we searched everywhere around in the water," one of the sailors spoke up, his voice shaking. "She was no where to be found."

"Well,  _clearly_  she came back to land, you idiot!" Eric's voice rang with a yell, his guard jumped. "She probably came up from somewhere else!"

Eric walked towards the captain of his personal guard and took the man by his colar, before speaking slowly and gravely.

"Tear this village apart, but you  _will_  find her," the prince said. "No man or woman says no to me and gets away alive. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Captain Mills stared at his prince's eyes and nodded quietly. The prince let go of his captain and started to walk away, the men opened up passage as he walked.

"You have three days," Eric said as he walked towards the horse his guard brought to him. "Bring her to the castle. You may do as you please with her, but bring her alive."

Captain Mills observed as Eric mounted his black stallion and trotted away. The soldier shook his head when he noted the frightened eyes of the peasants as the prince left the small village. Eric was too much like his father; the little hope of a fair ruler to their kingdom was lost.

**x**

Far away from Prince Eric's kingdom a pirate ship sailed slowly by the calm sea on a bright morning. Captain Killian Jones sat carelessly over an empty barrel of wine, his feet up resting over a rope as he peeled off an orange with his knife. His attention was drawn suddenly to a raven flying over his ship.  _A message_ , he knew. He watched as the raven sat on the shoulder of one of his sailors. The dark skinned man took a parchment from the bird and set it free. He read and his eyes locked on Jones' as he started walking towards his captain.

"Word from my deceased mother, Hugo?" Jones asked sarcastically, due to the man's serious expression, as he chewed on a piece of his orange.

"Captain Lars says a royal ship is coming our way," Hugo answered, ignoring his Captain's joke. "He was at Quutamo, our dear Prince Eric was a little annoyed a few days ago because some girl said no to him, his guard couldn't find her anywhere, so he decided to take his anger somewhere else."

"When is that spoiled prick not irritated with something?" Jones replied after a scoff. "Let them come, we will send them running back like last time. We keep our course, King Midas is one of the few that doesn't hate us, we need to step on land for a while, sell all this crap we took from King George's trade ships to get some coin."

"We could take a detour—"

"We could," Jones said as he put his feet down. "But we won't, a detour will delay us. We keep course. Besides, these waters are too calm, I'm getting bored."

"Aye, Captain," Hugo said, defeated, and nodded.

Jones smiled mischievously and nodded back, taking another piece of the orange to his mouth as his friend walked away. He wondered for a while who was the  _surely_  mad girl that dared to say no to Prince Eric of Quutamo, the most ruthless and spoiled prince of all the kingdoms and amused himself as he imagined the look of incredulousness on the prick's face when she did so.

* * *

_A/N: Please, please, please review and let me know what you think. I know it's annoying when authors beg for reviews, but I could use some encouragement! :P Thanks for all the views, faves and follows!_


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